W.E.B Griffin - The Murderers

21. Q. How long would you say you were in the Inferno?

A. Thirty minutes, tops. Ten minutes, maybe, in the bar and then fifteen, twenty minutes down in his office.

22. Q. We’ve heard that Mr. Atchison used to keep a lot of money in the office. That he used to make loans. You ever hear that?

A. Yeah, sure. He did that. That was one of the reasons we was talking about me working for him. People sometimes don’t pay when they’re supposed to.

23. Q. And you were going to help him collect his bad debts.

A. Not only that. Just be around the place. Keep the peace. You know.

24. Q. When you were in the Inferno, did you notice anything out of the ordinary?

A. No. If you’re asking did I see anybody in there who looked like they might be thinking of sticking the place up, hell no. If I’d have seen anything like that, I would have stuck around.

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25. Q. You said Mrs. Atchison had a roving eye. Do you think that what happened there had anything to do with that? Was she playing around on the side, do you think?

A. Well, she may have been. Like I said, she seemed to like men. But I don’t know nothing for sure.

26. Q. When you left the Inferno, where did you go?

A. Home. It was late.

27. Q. Have you got any idea who might have robbed the Inferno and killed those two people?

A. There’s a lot of people in Philadelphia who do that sort of thing for a living. Have I got a name? No.

28. Q. That’s about all I have. Unless Detective Milham…?

A. (Det. Milham) No. I think that’s everything. Thank you, Mr. Foley.

29. Q. (Mr. Foley) Could I ask a question?

(Det. Payne) Certainly.

(Mr. Foley) When you shot that nutcase who was cutting up the women, what did you use?

(Det. Payne) My. 38 snub-nose.

(Mr. Foley) And on the dinge who did the Goldblatt job? Same gun?

(Det. Payne) Yes.

(Mr. Foley) You got more balls than I do. If my life was on the line, I’d carry a. 45 at least. You ever see what a. 45’ll do to you?

(Det. Payne) Yes, I have. But we can carry only weapons that are authorized by the Department.

(Mr. Foley) That’s bullshit.

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(Det. Payne) Off the record, I agree with you.

(Mr. Foley) Sometime maybe, I’ll see you around, we’ll have a beer or something, and we can talk about guns. I was in the Marine Corps. They teach you about guns.

(Det. Payne) I’d like to do that.

(Det. Milham) I think that’s all, Mr. Foley. Thank you for your time and cooperation.

(Mr. Foley) That’s all? I’m through?

(Det. Milham) That’s all. Thank you very much.

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“Frankie’s in love with Matt,” Wally Milham said. “He wants to buy him a drink and tell him about guns.”

“Jesus Christ!” Matt said.

Jason Washington raised his hand somewhat imperiously and made a circling motion with his extended index finger, as a signal to the waitress that he wanted another cup of espresso.

They were in Cafe Elana, a new (and rather pretentious, Matt thought) Italian coffeehouse in Society Hill.

“That sometimes happens,” Washington said, returning his attention to the table. “I think it has more to do with Matt representing authority than his charming personality. You might find it interesting, Matthew, to discuss the phenomenon with your sister.”

“In this case, it’s because Matt shoots people,” Milham said. “Frankie found that fascinating.”

“Frankie found a kindred soul, in other words?” Washington asked, nodding. “Let’s think about that.”

“There’s something wrong with that guy,” Matt said.

“There’s something wrong, as you put it, with most people who commit homicide,” Washington said. “Or did you have something special in mind?”

“He seems detached from reality,” Matt said. “The only time he seemed at all concerned with having been picked up and taken to a Homicide interview room was when I went through the Miranda business; that made him worry that he had been arrested. But even that didn’t seem to bother him very much. As soon as Wally told him he wasn’t under arrest…”

“Matthew, you realize, I hope, that the moment he was told that he wasn’t under arrest, all the ramifications of his being informed of his Miranda rights became moot.”

“I thought going through the routine might unnerve him,” Matt said. “And I didn’t get anywhere close to asking him about his involvement in either the robberies or the murders. I just asked him if he was in the Inferno, what he was doing there, and if he saw anything out of the ordinary.”

“No harm done in this case,” Washington said, “but you were close to the edge of the precipice.”

“Matt asked me before he gave him the Miranda.” Wally came to Matt’s defense. “It made sense to me. He’s right, there is something wrong with this guy. I agreed that it might shake him up, and I told him not to get into the murder itself. Either the Inferno murders, or Kellog’s.”

“Then, Wallace,” Washington pronounced, “the two of you were teetering on the precipice, in grave risk of providing a defense counsel six weeks out of law school with an issue that would cloud the minds of the jurors.”

Washington let the criticism sink in for a moment, then went on: “Having said that, it was not a bad idea. Professor Washington just wanted to make the point in his Homicide 101 Tutorial for Detective Payne that there are enormous risks in dancing around Miranda. In my experience, the more heinous the crime alleged, the greater the concern from the bench about the rights of the accused.”

“I didn’t turn Matt loose, Jason,” Milham said, his annoyance at the lecture visible and growing as he spoke. “And he wasn’t a loose cannon. I was prepared to shut him off if he was getting into something he shouldn’t have. I didn’t have to.”

“I intended no offense, Wallace,” Washington said. “Nevertheless, my observations were in order. It would offend me if, because of some procedural error, Mr. Foley and Mr. Atchison got away with what they did.”

“OK,” Milham said.

“I have the feeling that neither of you feel Foley was involved with Officer Kellog’s murder. Is that-”

“He’s tied to the Inferno,” Milham said. “Atchison says he doesn’t know Frankie, and Frankie tells us he’s going to work there as a bouncer.”

“Unless, of course, he is in fact a contract killer,” Washington said. “While I was waiting for you two to show up, I considered the anomaly of a nice Irish boy being so employed by the mob. Unusual, of course, but not impossible. I read the 75-49s on the Kellog job. There was nothing of great value stolen from the house. The only thing Mrs. Kellog reported as missing were her wedding and engagement rings. She left them there when she left Officer Kellog. Some other minor items are missing: a silver frame, holding their wedding picture; a portable television; and a silver coffee service. The street value of everything would not exceed two or three hundred dollars. And, of course, the tapes from the telephone recording device. Not enough for a burglar to kill over. The manner, the professional manner, so to speak, in which Officer Kellog was shot suggests assassination, rather than anything else. Perhaps the tapes were what his murderer was after.”

“Narcotics Five Squad?” Milham said doubtfully. “Jason, I have trouble thinking…”

“As do I. Unless what was on those tapes was so incriminating that desperate measures were required. Or…”

“Or what?”

“What was on those tapes was incriminating vis-a-vis the mob. The decision was made to eliminate Officer Kellog and get the tapes. And to put distance between the mob and any Narcotics involvement, or involvement between the mob and the Narcotics Five Squad, an outside contract killer was employed. Perhaps Matt’s admirer. I don’t think we should conclude that Mr. Foley was not involved with Officer Kellog’s murder.”